Tennis player Radhika Yadav killed by father at Gurgaon home: ‘Accused was taunted every time he went to buy milk at his village’

Her uncle, Kuldeep (46), who lives on the ground floor with his family, heard the shots, rushed upstairs, and found Radhika lying in a pool of blood.

As per the FIR lodged on Kuldeep’s complaint, he noticed a .32 bore revolver — Deepak’s licensed weapon — in the drawing room. He and his son, Piyush, then rushed Radhika to a private hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

In his statement to the police Thursday evening, he said there was no issue in the family that would lead his brother to kill his niece.

However, according to the police, Deepak allegedly could not stand Radhika’s success — she was gradually climbing up the ranks internationally in the doubles category, was coaching at a private academy, and was individually teaching high-profile clients.

During questioning, police said he claimed he was taunted by locals whenever he went to buy milk at his village in Wazirabad.

Station House Officer Inspector Vinod Kumar had said on Thursday, “He (Deepak) had been upset for a while as he was being taunted by locals over his daughter’s income. He was troubled by their remarks — they would keep saying the house is running on her money, and he is too dependent on that. He had asked her (Radhika) several times earlier to stop working at the academy, but she refused. He could not take it anymore.”

A police spokesperson told The Indian Express that they have found no evidence so far to suggest a love affair or objection to her social media posts as possible motives for the crime.

Radhika was in a music video, uploaded last year, which garnered over 21,000 views. Police have ruled out anything related to it or her social media being behind the father’s motive as of now.

The FIR has been lodged under sections of murder and offences under the Arms Act. Police recovered the murder weapon along with five empty shells and one live cartridge from the scene.

The autopsy report states that four bullets hit Radhika. The body was handed back to her family after the post-mortem.

Born on March 23, 2000, Radhika had competed in various national and international tournaments, achieving a career-best ranking of 75 in Girls Under-18, 53 in Women’s Doubles, and 35 in Women’s Singles as per All India Tennis Association (AITA) records.

She was active on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit, where she was ranked 113.